Classifying Exoplanet Atmospheres opens new field of study

Artist’s conceptual image of the 25 exoplanets examined in this study. (Credit: ESA/Hubble, N. Bartmann) 

An international team of researchers examined data for 25 exoplanets and found some links among the properties of the atmospheres, including the thermal profiles and chemical abundances in them. This marks the first time exoplanet atmospheres have been studied as populations, rather than individually. These findings will help establish a generalized theory of planet formation which will improve our understanding of all planets, including the Earth.

Today there are more than 3000 confirmed exoplanets, planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. Because they are far away from Earth, it is difficult to study them in detail...

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Scientists use Recycled Glass Waste as Sand Replacement in 3D printing

Researchers from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed the capability to use recycled glass in 3D printing, opening doors to a more environmentally sustainable way of building and construction.

Glass is one material that can be 100 per cent recycled with no reduction in quality, yet it is one of the least recycled waste types. Glass is made up of silicon dioxide, or silica, which is a major component of sand, and therefore it offers significant untapped potential to be recycled into other products.

At the same time, due to growing populations, urbanisation and infrastructure development, the world is facing a shortage of sand, with climate scientists calling it one of the greatest sustainability challenges of the 21st century.

For these re...

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Scientists find Elusive Gas from Post-Starburst Galaxies Hiding in Plain Sight

Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/S. Dagnello (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

Post-starburst galaxies were previously thought to scatter all of their gas and dust — the fuel required for creating new stars — in violent bursts of energy, and with extraordinary speed. Now, new data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) reveals that these galaxies don’t scatter all of their star-forming fuel after all. Instead, after their supposed end, these dormant galaxies hold onto and compress large amounts of highly-concentrated, turbulent gas. But contrary to expectation, they’re not using it to form stars.

In most galaxies, scientists expect gas to be distributed in a way similar to starlight. But for post-starburst galaxies, or PSBs, this isn’t the case...

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Researchers discover Drug-Resistant Environmental Mold is capable of Infecting People

A new study led by Imperial College London finds that drug-resistant mould is spreading from the environment and infecting susceptible people’s lungs.

The researchers found six cases of people infected with a drug-resistant form of a fungi called Aspergillus fumigatus that could be traced back to spores in the environment. Their findings use samples from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and are published in Nature Microbiology.

Aspergillus fumigatus is an environmental mould that can cause fungal lung disease. While people with healthy lungs clear inhaled spores, people with lung conditions or weakened immune systems sometimes cannot, meaning the spores may remain in the lungs causing an infection called aspergillosis. Aspergillosis affects 10-20 million people worldwide...

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